News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

FIRST STAGE

325 West Walnut Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212

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About the Theatre

Founded in 1987, First Stage is one of the nation’s most acclaimed theaters for young audiences and the second largest theater company in Milwaukee.
THE TEMPEST
6/12 - 15/12/2024


The Tempest brings Shakespeare's enchanting tale to life as a cast of young performers navigates themes of love, forgiveness, and redemption. Set on a magical ...


RELATED STORIES

THE TEMPEST Comes to First Stage in December


by Stephi Wild - November 15, 2024

First Stage's Young Company presents THE TEMPEST, featuring themes of romance, revenge, and comedy. The performance showcases the talents of young actors in a fresh take on Shakespeare's classic....

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER Returns to First Stage


by Stephi Wild - November 08, 2024

First Stage will present RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL. Join Rudolph and friends as they come to life in an adventure that reminds us what makes you different can be what makes you special! ...

LILLY AND THE PIRATES Comes to Amplify Fall Festival


by Stephi Wild - November 07, 2024

First Stage's first ever Amplify Fall Festival will open with a reading of 'Lilly and the Pirates,' a new musical by Broadway playwright and Pulitzer Prize-Finalist Will Eno....

First Stage Kicks Off Its 2024-2025 Season With PETE THE CAT


by A.A. Cristi - September 16, 2024

First Stage has announced the kickoff of its 2024-2025 season with PETE THE CAT, a musical for young audiences and families, starting on October 4....

Photos: First Look At ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND At First Stage


by A.A. Cristi - May 10, 2024

First Stage concludes its 2023/24 season with an exciting,  truly inventive production of ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND: A Create Your Own Adventure Play by award-winning playwright and frequent First Stage collaborator Finegan Kruckemeyer. See photos from the show....

RIDE THE CYCLONE & More Set for First Stage 2024/25 Season


by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 07, 2024

First Stage has unveiled its  2024/25 season – a lineup of eight captivating productions featuring the power of unlikely heroes. Learn more about the season and see how to purchase tickets for mainstage productions at the Marcus Performing Arts Center Todd Wehr Theater and additional productions at ...

First Stage's ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND: A Create Your Own Adventure Play Opens In May


by A.A. Cristi - April 24, 2024

First Stage concludes its 2023/24 season with ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND: A Create Your Own Adventure Play by award-winning playwright and frequent First Stage collaborator Finegan Kruckemeyer....

Milwaukee's First Stage to Open ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND: A Create Your Own Adventure Play


by Chloe Rabinowitz - April 24, 2024

First Stage will conclude its 2023/24 season with ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND, a unique interactive play by award-winning playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer. Learn how to purchase tickets. ...

Photos: First Look at First Stage's Young Company's Production of AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE


by Blair Ingenthron - April 20, 2024

First Stage’s Young Company, the Theater Academy’s award-winning training program for advanced high school actors, is presenting its final production of the 2023/24 season, Henry Miller’s brilliant adaptation of Ibsen’s AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Check out production photos here!...

Review: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID is 'Most Likely to Delight Your Kids' at FIRST STAGE


by Kelsey Lawler - April 18, 2024

Joshie says respect your parents, follow your dreams, and take your kids to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical at First Stage. Directed by Julie Woods-Robinson with musical direction by Paula Tillen, this spunky show runs through May 5th in Milwaukee and is a great one for young kids. ...

Past Shows

PETE THE CAT
4/10 - 3/11/2024


First Stage opens its 2024-2025 season with a vibrant musical adaptation, featuring the jazzy antics of Pete the Cat. As Pete moves in with the ...


THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, features an original story and it’s every father’s nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ...

Elephant and Piggie We're in a Play!


When Elephant Gerald and Piggie the Pig get together, anything is possible. These two pals and their devotion to each other through ups and downs ...


First Stage has announced the creation of Amplify - First Stage's BIPOC Virtual Short Play Series, to be developed and produced throughout Spring 2021. In ...

The Quest for Solomon's Treasure


Tune in to this seven-episode world premiere web series streaming exclusively for First Stage audiences. Directed by First Stage alum and Hollywood actor Jeremy Tardy ...

UnMuted
UnMuted
30/4 - 30/5/2021


UNMUTEDBy Alvaro Saar RiosMusic and Lyrics by Deborah Wicks La PumaDirected by Anna Skidis Vargas...

The Crucible
The Crucible
19/2 - 7/3/2021


Inspired by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, THE CRUCIBLE takes us back to a fictionalized account of the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials. A tale ...

The Crucible
12/2 - 7/3/2021


Next up in First Stage's Through Our Lens 2021 Virtual Season of Plays will be Arthur Miller's powerful and timely drama THE CRUCIBLE. Winner of ...


First Stage will hold their 27th annual Make Believe Ball virtually on Saturday, MARCH 6, 2021 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. First Stage invites patrons, ...

Escape from Peligro Island
Escape from Peligro Island
29/1 - 28/2/2021


Callaway Brown - an unlikely young hero - has been stranded on a desert island, and its up to YOU to decide what happens next! ...


Up next in First Stage's Virtual Season of Plays is ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND - A CREATE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE PLAY, written by award-winning, internationally ...


In honor of Martin Luther King Day, First Stage will be offering a free Virtual Storytelling event to the Milwaukee community on Monday, JANUARY 18. ...


First Stage was set to produce RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL for the holidays this season and delight Milwaukee audiences once again with Rudolph's ...


First Stage has created a 30-minute virtual special featuring some of the iconic characters from RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL, the holiday production originally ...

The Two Gentleman of Verona
4/12 - 14/12/2020


Next up in First Stage's 2020/21 Virtual Season of Plays is THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. This adventurous, romantic comedy ...

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
4/12 - 13/12/2020


Possibly Shakespeare’s earliest romantic comedy, The Two Gentlemen of Verona centers on Valentine and Proteus, loyal friends who are transformed into enemies thanks to their ...


In this play, the singular actor shares the story of a group of friends who go on a wild adventure in the American Southwest after ...

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
24/11 - 31/12/2017


All of your favorite peanut characters come to life in the this stage production of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". When Charlie Brown complains about the ...

Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook


play by Allison Gregory Adapted from the books series by Barbara Park Meet the funniest girl in Room Nine – Junie B. Jones! A terrible ...

New play reading: A Girl of Limberlost


Join us for a new play reading of A Girl of Limberlost. From the novel by Gene Stratton-Porter Growing up at the edge of the ...

Mockingbird
Mockingbird
24/3 - 9/4/2017


Adapted by Julie Jensen Based upon the book by Kathryn Erksine Winner of the National Book Award This play was commissioned by The John F. ...

New play reading: Antarctica, Wisconsin


Join us for a new play reading of ANTARCTICA, WISCONSIN Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 7 p.m. An Original Play by Finegan Kruckemeyer Young Lenny ...

Robin Hood
Robin Hood
17/2 - 12/3/2017


A world premiere play by Joe Foust and John Maclay. A fresh look at the timeless tale of the legendary hero. When Robin, Little John ...

The Boy Who Fell into a Book


Ten-year-old Kevin Carter falls into his book and meets his fictional hero, tough hard-bitten Private Investigator, RockfistSlim – 220 pounds of solid muscle and now ...

Welcome to Bronzeville
Welcome to Bronzeville
13/1 - 5/2/2017


A world premiere by Sheri Williams Pannell. 1957. The heart of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville pulses to the beat of jazz and doo-wop. Everyone expects Michael Jr. ...

The New Play Reading: The Sisters Eight


This new play reading is an exclusive opportunitiy to get an inside look at a new play being considered for a future First Stage season, ...

Mole Hill Stories
Mole Hill Stories
5/11 - 20/11/2016


Inspired by the work of Milwaukee author/illustrator Lois Ehlert, this collaboration with Danceworks returns to First Stage, bringing three of Ehlert’s most famous stories to ...

Goosebumps: The Musical
Goosebumps: The Musical
14/10 - 13/11/2016


Brooke and Zeke have been cast as the leads in the school's new production of an old play about a...Phantom. Strange things start disrupting rehearsals ...

Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
2/5 - 1/6/2014


Join us as history's greatest teen detective makes her First Stage debut in this world premiere adventure! In the small town of River Heights, Nancy ...

Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
16/5 - 17/5/2014


The most famous love story ever told – presented as only First Stage can. Young people find true love in a culture of violence and ...

Crash
Crash
28/3 - 13/4/2014


Crash Coogan seems to have it all – good grades, athleticism, popular friends. But what he can’t seem to get is the attention of his ...

Anatole
Anatole
21/2 - 16/3/2014


When the noble French mouse Anatole learns that humans view mice as the villains of France, he embarks on a musical adventure to save a ...

Cat in the Hat
Cat in the Hat
25/1 - 2/3/2014


Leave it to the Cat in the Hat! Everyone’s favorite feline in the red and white hat turns a rainy afternoon upside down with his ...

A Midnight Cry
A Midnight Cry
10/1 - 9/2/2014


This moving historical drama with live music is inspired by the true story of a young slave's journey to freedom through the Underground Railroad. Whisperings ...

The Best Xmas Pageant Ever
The Best Xmas Pageant Ever
29/11 - 29/12/2013


They’re baaack! And so is the totally “rad” nostalgia of the 80s when the rowdy Herdman kids are chosen to star in the annual Christmas ...

Maul of the Dead
Maul of the Dead
6/12 - 8/12/2013


Just when you thought holiday shopping was a nightmare…Black Friday takes on a whole new meaning when zombies roam an abandoned shopping mall. Six strangers ...

Shrek The Musical
Shrek The Musical
11/10 - 17/11/2013


“Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek…” And thus begins the fairy tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on ...

Diary of a Worm, a Spider, and a Fly


A masterful fusion of excitement and education, this adventure is as delightfully absurd and joyously playful as the wildly popular book series. Who ever thought ...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


Charlie Bucket’s golden ticket is his passport into Willy Wonka’s whimsical world of wacky wonders. Join Charlie and his Grandpa Joe as they take a ...

A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time
27/1 - 19/2/2012


She is an outcast at school. Her father is missing. The town thinks her brother is some sort of freak. Meg Murry is angry at ...

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus


Buckle up for this highly interactive adventure that puts you in the driver’s seat. Everyone’s favorite pigeon wants to drive the bus, and it’s up ...

Junie B. in Jingle Bells Batman Smells


It’s Christmas season in Room One, and first-grader Junie B. is a mix of emotions. Visions of goodies from the school’s holiday gift shop frolic ...

Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly
Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly
28/10 - 13/11/2011


This world premiere production paints the humorous yet inspirational portrait of the life of 9-year-old Tonia, seeking to contain her intelligence and creativity in order ...

Seussical
Seussical
16/9 - 16/10/2011


Back by popular demand, this musical is as fun for children as it is nostalgic for parents and grandparents. The Cat in the Hat tells ...

Videos


And in this Corner: Cassius Clay in Milwaukee, WI And in this Corner: Cassius Clay
Racine Theatre Guild (2/21 - 3/2)
AUDITIONS: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Milwaukee, WI AUDITIONS: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Sunset Playhouse (5/12 - 5/14)
Tiny Beautiful Things in Milwaukee, WI Tiny Beautiful Things
Sunset Playhouse (1/23 - 1/26)
Cowboy Camp in Milwaukee, WI Cowboy Camp
Sunset Playhouse (2/19 - 2/22)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Milwaukee, WI Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Sunset Playhouse (7/10 - 8/3)
A Beautiful Noise in Milwaukee, WI A Beautiful Noise
Uihlein Hall at Marcus Center For The Performing Arts (3/25 - 3/30)
AUDITIONS - Miss Holmes in Milwaukee, WI AUDITIONS - Miss Holmes
Sunset Playhouse (4/7 - 4/8)
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